The NFL Foundation announced today it is awarding grants to more than 350 NFL players, legends and coaches to help them host free youth football camps in communities across the country this summer.
For nearly three decades, the NFL Foundation -- the league's philanthropic arm -- has provided funding through the Youth Football Camp Grant program to help members of the NFL family organize and run free, non-contact youth football summer camps.
Through this longstanding program, the NFL Foundation is helping expand access to safe, engaging summer programming for thousands of young people in communities nationwide. Camps supported through this program are free for participants, removing barriers to access and ensuring equitable participation for all.
"The Youth Football Camp Grant program empowers NFL players, legends and coaches to use their platforms to make a meaningful impact in the communities that helped shape their football and life journeys," said NFL vice president of philanthropy and executive director of the NFL Foundation Alexia Gallagher. "Providing youth with safe spaces to stay active and healthy is core to the NFL Foundation's mission, and we are excited to support those efforts through more than 350 free youth football camps hosted by the NFL family this summer."
NFL players, legends and coaches play a central role in shaping their camps, often hosting them in their hometowns or in other communities where they have a personal connection. NFL players and legends hosting free youth football camps this summer include: Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, Detroit Lions offensive lineman Penei Sewell, Houston Texans defensive lineman Will Anderson Jr., Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, and NFL legends and Pro Football Hall of Famers Larry Fitzgerald Jr. and Ed Reed.
"Hosting football camps in a small town in Mississippi means a lot to me. It's more than just teaching football, it's about giving back to the communities that helped shape me," said Simmons, Titans three-time Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Club Winner. "It's about showing young athletes that their dreams are bigger than their circumstances and that hard work, faith, and dedication can take them anywhere. If I can inspire just one kid to believe in themselves a little more and know that they learned at least one thing while being at a Jeffery Simmons camp, then the camp has done its job."
Grant recipients also have the opportunity to work directly with USA Football, the National Governing Body for American Football in the U.S., to establish USA Football's First Down Clinic program -- a fun, free introduction to football focused on age-appropriate instruction in basic skills such as running, jumping, passing and catching. In 2025, NFL players hosted over 300 First Down Clinics, and USA Football held these camps at more than 10 major NFL events serving over 60,000 participants.
The NFL Foundation is dedicated to providing youth with the resources and tools needed to become the next generation of leaders. Throughout the year, NFL Foundation grants play a crucial role in funding the league's PLAY 60 initiative, which encourages youth to engage in physical activity for at least 60 minutes a day, as well as Character Playbook, the league's program designed to help kids foster healthier relationships and protect their mental health.
Through these efforts and other initiatives supporting communities across the country, the NFL Foundation has provided more than $1 billion in total philanthropic donations over its more than 50-year history.
